The Englewood Historical Society is working hard to gain ownership of the Englewood Train Depot, which is pending a $30,000 sale that would include both the historic building and the land. June 21, Englewood, Colo.

Doug Cohn of the Englewood Historical Society holds his railroad track suspenders. The society is seeking to acquire the historic Englewood Train Depot.

The little Englewood Historic Preservation Society has been told time and time again that it can’t, but the group still thinks it can save the 98-year-old train depot at West Dartmouth Avenue and South Galapago Street.

The group, founded 17 months ago for the purpose of saving the Englewood Train Depot, wants to turn the building into a train and community museum and provide a home for a model railroad club displaced because of Denver Union Station renovations.

The Englewood City Council is weighing the group’s proposal against one offered by Denver-based Tom and Patti Parson, who want to convert the depot into a printing press shop and museum, showcasing their collection of print types and printing presses, one of which dates to the 1870s.

“It would be a sort of living museum displaying printing, typography, poetry and art,” said Tom Parson, who has been in the printing business since the 1980s.

An evaluation committee reviewed both proposals and recommended the Parsons’ plan be accepted.

“It’s fair to say the council is divided,” Deputy City Manager Michael Flaherty said.

The council will deliberate and announce its decision July 1.

Both plans promise restoration of the exterior of the mission-style building. The historic society has big plans for the interior, too.

“Our goal is to restore the depot to the way it was between 1915 and 1945,” president Jim Jordan said.

The preservationists hope to join forces with the Platte Valley & Western Model Railroad Club. The PV&W, known for its 900-square-foot model train layout in the basement of Denver Union Station, was recently booted from its longtime home.

“If the Englewood Historic Preservation Society gets the depot, we plan to help them and build a layout in the basement,” PV&W president Chris Rand said.

Rand said PV&W had planned to build a display for the historic society for a while, but when the Union Station Alliance told both the PV&W and the Denver Society of Model Railroaders to pack up in April, neither club was certain whether they’d be asked back when Union Station renovations are completed.

Rand dismembered part of the layout and packed what he could into various storage units, basements, backyards, and garages around Denver. Most of the layout was abandoned, however.

“We were only able to save less than 10 percent of the Union Station railroad display,” Rand said, “because most of it was meant to be a permanent design.”

If the historical society is able to purchase the depot, PV&W plans to build a 1,500-square-foot display that depicts a joint-line railroad from Denver to Raton Pass, as well as a workshop area so visitors can get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to construct such a layout.

“We’re a very family-friendly environment,” Rand said. “We made the extra effort to be open and accommodating and plan to build a glassed-in workshop area for visitors.”

The PV&W says it is keeping its options open and continues to look for new homes around the city.

Even if PV&W doesn’t end up headquartered at the depot, Rand said the club will build a layout if the historical society gets to purchase the building.

“It’s a better use of the depot to turn it into a transportation and community-type museum,” Rand said. “It keeps the character of the actual property.”

Piece of history

Built in 1915, the depot is on the Colorado Register of Historic Properties and has a city preservation easement attached.

“Preservation of the building is the overriding goal,” Flaherty said. “It’s clear the building has a great deal of architectural value.”

Made of stucco and wood, the depot is the last of its kind in Colorado. According to the Englewood Historic Preservation Society, nearly a century ago there were about 150 mission-style depots throughout the Southwest. Englewood is one of two that survive; the second is in Glorietta, N.M.

While fists are flying to gain ownership of the antique train stop, the depot had surprisingly tender beginnings. In the early 1900s, Floral Telegraph Delivery Association founder John Valentine
convinced the Santa Fe Railway Co. to make a stop in Englewood so he could distribute his flowers — carnations in particular — across the country.

While the Parsons’ proposal would restore the exterior of the one-time flower-exporting depot, both Rand and Jordan worry that the weight of printing presses could damage the fragile building. Tom Parson admits the interior of the building would be reworked to accommodate the printing machines.

Parson says his goal is to make the building functional again.

“It’s not going to be a train station again, so we want to give it a new life,” Parson said.

According to Parson’s proposal, some walls and rooms would be redesigned to provide space for a meeting area where he plans to host workshops for those with an interest in old-fashioned printing. With over 2,500 cases of metal type and several hundred sets of wooden type, Parson also plans to display his vast collection of historic printing materials throughout the depot. He would use the lower part of the space to continue his small-scale, hand-done printing business that he currently runs out of his home.

Both groups presented their arguments, and it’s now up to council.

“I’m pretty hopeful that we’ll get it,” Parson said. “I think we explained ourselves to the council pretty well.”

However, Jordan says he’s not giving up the fight either.

“We’re not throwing the towel in; we’re still trying,” said Jordan. “And I really think we can do it.”

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